The instant invention relates to stitching (stapling) apparatus used in document feeding systems, and more particularly to apparatus for stabilizing the clincher in a stitching device.
There are many applications today in which documents are fed along a feed path and then collated for further processing. In many cases the documents must be properly aligned prior to insertion into an envelope. In a significant number of applications, it is necessary that the documents be secured to one another, i.e. stitched or stapled together. There is a universal stitcher that is well known in the art and it is available for a variety of applications in which stapling of documents is required. The stitch is in the form of an open rectangle prior to clinching, i.e., it consists of a top side and two vertical legs extending downwardly from the top side. After clinching, the stitch is in the form of a rectangle that is almost closed on the bottom, i.e., the two legs are bent (clinched) somewhere between their ends so that they face each other and have sections substantially parallel to the top side. The height of the stitch is the difference between the top side and the bent sections of the two legs.
In prior art stitchers, the height of the stitch for a particular collation has varied considerably, resulting in non-uniform stitching which contributes to alignment problems with the documents, and complicates processing downstream of the stitching.
Accordingly, the instant invention provides apparatus in a stitcher which maintains uniform compression of the clinched portion of the stitch and assures uniform height of the stitch.